Funadvice Logo
Explore Join
More Pets and Animals Questions

How unhealthy is it to feed a small dog human food/table scraps?

Would it be okay to feed my dog some food off of my plate, so long as it is no more than half a cup of food, and she exercises daily?

I want to give her some turkey and gravy with some green beans or something for Thanksgiving. :D

I just don’t want to make her fat, unhealthy…and make it to where she won’t eat regular dog food. :[

Become an Expert →
Answer #1

It’s actually in a lot of cases better to feed your dog human food rather than animal food which contains a lot of preservatives. However I don’t believe that dogs should be fed while humans are eating, they should have their own eating time and not off the table.

Answer #2

its okay every now again, but anymore than perhaps once or twice a week and you could harm the animal

ryan :)

Answer #3

I was thinking of putting some in her bowl, from my plate…I didn’t finish my plate. Just some turkey, gravy, and green beans.

Answer #4

That’s fine. It isn’t dangerous for them at all. Go ahead.

Answer #5

Okay, but I am not going to be able to feed her healthy human food every day, what if I feed her human food once and a while, and she refuses to eat regular dog food because she wants human food?

Answer #6

Dogs have co-evolved with humans and have been eating our scraps since the first wolves started following humans.

One thing to remember is that in dog packs the higher status dogs eat first and the lowest last. When you let a dog eat while you are eating you are elevating its rank in your “pack.” Dogs should have to wait until humans are done eating before they get any scraps. This helps them understand who is the boss. If you feed them first it’s the dog that is training you to be obedient.

More Like This
Advisor

Pets and Animals

Pet Care, Animal Behavior, Veterinary Medicine

Ask an advisor one-on-one!
Advisor

Pets Feed

Pets, Animals, Pet Care

Advisor

Simply For Dogs

Pets, Dogs, Blogs

Advisor

The Combine Dog

Dog Lifestyle, Pet Care, Dog Parenting

Advisor

Dogs Forum

Pet Care, Dog Training, Dog Breeding

Advisor

SitDropStay - Dog Training

Pet Training, Dog Behavior Consulting, Puppy Training